On a recent visit to my local store, and while perusing online even, I found myself quite appalled. Great Scott! Indubitably. They carry humidors, both electric and wood types, which is to be expected, really. However, they also carry to-go or travel cases, a ton of pretty cool yet plain ashtrays, like this heavy-duty crystal ashtray, cigar needles, lighters, and a shit ton more.

Some of the items may be contingent on what’s available in your area. So, don’t be angry at me if they have less to choose from where you are.

Why are you sharing this?

Source: NewAir / The Home Depot

I’m honestly just a little flabbergasted by it. But what’s really got me in a tizzy is that somewhere local has this gear. Somewhere I can actually browse that I live near. And it’s somewhere that, most likely, a lot of you have access to, as well. Regardless of where you live or what state you’re in.

Our international brothers and sisters of the leaf might have a tough time finding The Home Depot, but I’m sure there are plenty of alternatives. At least, I hope that’s the case.

What’s so great about plain humidors and accessories?

Source: The Home Depot

What you may or may not have realized is that a lot of the offerings are plain, without logos or branding, which makes them excellent candidates for personalization. If you have stickers, wood burners, 3D printers, or any type of engraving and scoring tool, you can personalize the hell out of these things. Put your catchphrase on them: “Chew on that thang!” Put your name on them. Draw your favorite bike or Harley. Create a logo of your own. Go hog wild.

For example, this leather travel humidor has an embedded digital hygrometer, but the front is completely blank. You could etch your name on there or some kind of badass design like a skull. Hell, I might get one and put The BS Lounge logo on there.

And this cordless precision engraver is only $13 with a diamond-tip bit. You can use it, or something like it, to engrave glass, metal, plastic, ceramic, or hard materials.

Most of the items listed are free to ship to a store nearby, or free to deliver to your house. Can’t beat that.

The post Did you know The Home Depot has cigar accessories and cigar gear? I sure didn’t appeared first on The BS Lounge.

Now, right up front you’ll notice some of their lighter designs are in line with other brands. For example, the model JetLine dubs the R-100, I have from Vertigo — a subsidiary of Lotus. The same factories make some of these accessories, and different brands add their names. There’s nothing particularly wrong with that if the lighter is reliable. We’ll get to why I’m calling out JetLine, specifically, in a bit, but I do have a couple of their lighters.

What or who is JetLine?

Source: JetLine Lighters / Amazon

Information about the brand is pretty sparse. According to the site, JetLine has been around since 1991, and if their claims are true, they were the “world’s first” creator of the quadruple flame lighter. Quadruple is four. That’s ridiculous in my opinion, but to each their own. Apparently, JetLine also created the “world’s first” sextuple flame lighter. I’m sure four to six flames look badass, but talk about torching the shit out of your cigar, am I right?

But the prevailing theme across all the brands products is that they are stylish and accessible. “Affordable, durable, and reliable,” as described on the JetLine front page.

Their inventory isn’t exclusively lighters, however. JetLine also offers cutters, Zippo-style lighters, and a few unique designs — the Regal has a built-in cigar stand on top. It also has a serrated poker — cigar needle — and punch cutter. Sometimes, multi-functional accessories are the way to go. You can toss just one device in your go-bag or carrying pouch and that’s all you need to take to your lounge, shop, or wherever you’re going.

You can find JetLine products on both its official site and through other retailers like Amazon, by the way.

Why are we talking about JetLine lighters?

Source: JetLine Lighters

While some would rather spring for an S.T. Dupont or similarly expensive and flashy piece, I would much rather build out a collection of reliable, anytime-use accessories. No, I’m not saying ST. Dupont is unreliable, but they are expensive.

I usually keep my lighters in a box outside on my patio, where I spend my time smoking. I do have some nicer gear that stays inside the house. But when you’re traveling, visiting a family member or friend’s house, or hitting up local hotspots, you probably don’t want to bring along your most expensive gear. I mean, it depends on the crowd, I suppose.

Back to JetLine. The brand’s accessories are affordable but still look great. They’re unique enough that they become a talking piece when you’re out. And if you get one of the multi-functional models, you’re all set for a while, you don’t have to worry if you forget cutters and other gear.

Plus, they’re not so expensive that you’d be upset if you leave one behind, or if someone snags it. You’d be surprised how often that happens in a lounge or bar.

I can attest that JetLine lighters are quality, despite having a wallet-friendly price tag. Just bear in mind, lighters like this aren’t designed to last you forever. If you use them every day, multiple times a day, well, you can do the math.

In the end, there are lighters everywhere, many you’ll find on Amazon for great prices. So, if you don’t like what you see when you check out JetLine, there are plenty of alternatives. I just wanted to call out a brand I’ve been using for a while that offers reliable products. I haven’t used any of their cutters, so I can’t speak on those, but I’m sure they’re like any other you’d find elsewhere.

As for prices, the Regal I talked about above is only $19 on Thompson Cigar, $25 on JetLine, $30 on Amazon, and comes in a few different colors. Overall, prices for JetLine lighters range from about $18 to $80, and there’s a gift set for $190 that includes the Galleon, which is slick-looking.

Stay smoky y’all.

The post Friday Brand Feature: JetLine appeared first on The BS Lounge.

The two lighters I purchased for this include the Upallant 5-in-one cigar lighter, and the Moniup all-in-one torch lighter. They’re both similar in design, with multiple tools built into the lighter like a draw tool (cigar needle), V cutter, and cigar holder. I wanted to know how well these tools worked, namely in a pinch when you don’t have anything else on you, and whether or not they’re worth the purchase. Both are priced at about $28, but if you time, it right there are recurring promo codes offering a discount. I did purchase both lighters with my own money — I was not sent these for free.

The Upallant 5-in-one cigar lighter

Source: Upallant

Built-in Tools:

• Triple jet torch
• Cigar holder
• V-cutter
• Cigar punch
• Cigar craw enhancer (cigar needle)
• Butane fuel-level window

Price: $28

The Moniup all-in-one torch lighter

Source: Moniup

Built-in Tools:

• Dual jet torch
• Cigar holder
• V-cutter
• Butane fuel-level window

Price: $28

Upallant versus Moniup: Amazon cigar lighter head-to-head

Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge

Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge

Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge

Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge

Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge

Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge

At first glance, both lighters look remarkably similar, but the designs are different enough that you can tell them apart. The shell or casing is stainless steel, with a carbon-fiber-like finish on the Moniup, and a unique, honeycomb-style finish on the Upallant. Both are attractive and while I wish the branding on the Moniup was slightly more obscure, they both feel very premium for affordable lighters from Amazon of all places.

Filling them was a cinch. They both have fuel ports on the bottom so you just plug the butane nozzle into the port and let the tanks fill. If you don’t already know how to fill a torch lighter with butane it’s about as close as you’ll get to a fool-proof process as possible. They also both have windows on the side so you can see how much butane is left — and it’s just as helpful for filling up the lighter with fuel.

Since they’re both stainless they are somewhat heavy compared to a smaller, plastic lighter or something made of similar materials. The Upallant weighs about 8.8 ounces according to the store listing and the Moniup weighs about 9.9 ounces. That’s not so heavy or bulky that I wouldn’t want to take them with me to a lounge or somewhere on the go. They fit nicely in your pocket but if you have a cigar bag or holder of some kind they should fit well in there, too.

Not that you’ll be caressing these with your hands like a precious ring, but they do feel great to hold. The finish isn’t so intricate that they are overwhelming to the skin. And as I said, they’re not too heavy to handle, even filled, they feel just right.

Lighting a cigar, using the tools: The big test

Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge

The dual flame torch of the Moniup and the triple flame of the Upallant lighter are purportedly windproof. It just so happens that it was pretty darn windy during the time of my review so I had the opportunity to test this out. That claim is untenable at best. Both lighters still kick on and the flame is there, but the wind makes it difficult to light a cigar evenly without some kind of defense or shield in place. I do think that’s fairly obvious if you’ve ever tried to light a cigar before — like on a cruise where you’re basically in a wind tunnel. That’s not a fault of the lighter makers but reality. However, the claim itself — that they’re windproof — is true. Both lighters still work and fire up even on a windy day. If you’re trying to light a campfire you’ll be just fine.

Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge

The tools on both lighters are functional and work exactly as you’d expect. The V cutters are great, but you’re definitely going to need to keep them clean so be sure to keep the gunk off. The cigar punch on the Upallant is excellent if you forget your favorite cutter or a spare. And the cigar draw, the needle that’s like a PerfecDraw, works great to loosen up a cigar that’s rolled too tight. Only the Upallant 5-in-one cigar lighter has that cigar draw tool, though.

Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge

Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge

The cigar holders are positioned differently for each lighter but both work well. The Upallant lighter features a holder on the rear side, so you have to lay the lighter down flat on a surface to use it. Meanwhile, the Moniup holder is positioned right on the top, above the lid for the torch. Comparatively, I like Moniup’s positioning a lot better for a couple of reasons. First, the lighter stays upright and the cigar rests on top. Second, it’s more convenient to interact with when it comes to picking up your cigar and taking a draw. That said, both holders are functional and do what they need to. Plus, the heft of the lighters ensures they won’t topple or lose your lit cigar, even if you bump the table or something.

Why should you buy one of these lighters?

If you need a lighter, a spare, or just want something multifunctional to bring with you to the lounge or events, both of these options are excellent. They would make fantastic gifts for any cigar lovers you know, too.

Having used both, I could recommend either one. Look at the tools, compare, and choose the one that fits your needs. If you’re never going to use a cigar draw tool, for example, you’ll be just fine with the Moniup lighter. If you think you’ll need that tool, however, it’s only included on the Upallant lighter so spring for that instead. There are V cutters on both, and yes you can use them to make X cuts. Either way, you’re getting some kind of cutter built-in. Yet, the Upallant also has a cigar punch on the side, which brings its tool total to five gadgets versus the Moniup’s two — a holder and a V cutter.

If I had to choose one of the two, honestly, I like the Moniup lighter better. I like the cigar stand on the top, and I almost always have tools on me so I don’t need the extra gear. If you want those extra tools, like the punch and the cigar draw needle, then go with the Upallant instead. It helps that they’re both the same price.

• My Preference: Moniup all-in-one torch lighter
• Tools: Upallant (5) versus Moniup (2)
• Flame: Moniup dual flame versus Upallant triple flame
• Design: Carbon fiber (Moniup) versus honeycomb (Upallant)

Disclaimer: I used affiliate links from Amazon in this article. Purchasing either lighter through those links directly supports my work. Thank you.

The post Amazon cigar lighter head-to-head: Moniup versus Upallant appeared first on The BS Lounge.